Even though it had caught up across the world, the Me Too movement gathered steam in India only recently. From political leaders to Bollywood celebrities – many were called out for their inappropriate behavior under this campaign. In October this year, four female singers including Sona Mohapatra and Shweta Pandit accused Anu Malik of his predatory behavior. The singers revealed their horrific experience on social media, and following the allegations leveled against him, Malik stepped down from the jury panel of the 10th season of the famous reality television show, Indian Idol.
Although Anu Malik rubbished all the allegations leveled against him as 'lies', his lawyer had issued a statement, stating Shweta's allegations were false and baseless. Yesterday, Anu Malik's friend and singer Sonu Nigam backed the composer during an event organized by a reputed media group. He said that we respect accusers even without proof, but it is not the other way round.
Sonu Nigam said, "I haven't had enough opportunity to speak on this subject. I myself am a witness to how power is misused. I said #MeToo ten years ago when a journalist kept harassing me. He had told a director that if he worked with me, he would kill himself."
Sexual harassment claims can be baseless, he said, "If you say, 'Anu Malik met me this morning', that's fine. You accused him without any proof; let's accept that too. Had he [Anu Malik] wanted to say anything, he could have said a lot. But he did not. If I say that you misbehaved with me, you will ask me for proof. But there's no proof, right? Despite that, people are respecting the accusers, who are tarnishing Anu Malik's name. But how can you ban him? How can you snatch his bread and butter? How can you torture his family?"
"Who has given us the right to be the judiciary of someone else's life? Or you provide concrete proof. I have two sisters. I stand for them. But that does not mean that you put a stop to someone's work. How can that happen?" asked Sonu. "The torture, harassment, can happen anywhere. It happens in the corporate world too. You have accused him, you have shamed him, now don't punish his family. Get proof first," he added.
The singer's point of the argument was that when there are claims of sexual misconduct against one person, people should not go beyond a point to punish his family for his deeds. Sonu Nigam and Malik have been together as judges on Indian Idol.
